Low power and small form factor infrared imaging

ABSTRACT

Various techniques are provided for implementing an infrared imaging system. In one example, a system includes a focal plane array (FPA). The FPA includes an array of infrared sensors adapted to image a scene. The FPA also includes a bias circuit adapted to provide a bias voltage to the infrared sensors. The bias voltage is selected from a range of approximately 0.2 volts to approximately 0.7 volts. The FPA also includes a read out integrated circuit (ROIC) adapted to provide signals from the infrared sensors corresponding to captured image frames. Other implementations are also provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International Patent ApplicationNo. PCT/US2012/41744 filed Jun. 8, 2012 which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/656,889 filed Jun. 7, 2012 andentitled “LOW POWER AND SMALL FORM FACTOR INFRARED IMAGING” which areboth hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

International Patent Application No. PCT/US2012/41744 claims the benefitof U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/545,056 filed Oct. 7, 2011and entitled “NON-UNIFORMITY CORRECTION TECHNIQUES FOR INFRARED IMAGINGDEVICES” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

International Patent Application No. PCT/US2012/41744 claims the benefitof U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/495,873 filed Jun. 10,2011 and entitled “INFRARED CAMERA PACKAGING SYSTEMS AND METHODS” whichis hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

International Patent Application No. PCT/US2012/41744 claims the benefitof U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/495,879 filed Jun. 10,2011 and entitled “INFRARED CAMERA SYSTEM ARCHITECTURES” which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

International Patent Application No. PCT/US2012/41744 claims the benefitof U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/495,888 filed Jun. 10,2011 and entitled “INFRARED CAMERA CALIBRATION TECHNIQUES” which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

One or more embodiments of the invention relate generally to thermalimaging devices and more particularly, for example, to theimplementation and operation of such devices in a manner appropriate forlow power and small form factor applications.

BACKGROUND

Infrared imaging devices, such as infrared cameras or other devices, aretypically implemented with an array of infrared sensors. However,existing infrared sensors and related circuitry are typically sensitiveto noise and other phenomena. Because of such sensitivity, infraredsensors and related circuitry are often implemented with power supplyarrangements wherein multiple voltage supply paths provide differentvoltages to various circuit components. However, such implementationsare typically complex and may be relatively inefficient.

In addition, during operation at conventional voltages and currents,infrared imaging devices may experience significant self-heating whichmay cause various undesirable thermal effects. Nevertheless,conventional techniques to reduce such effects are also less than idealand may rely on active cooling or other measures that increase the costand complexity of infrared imaging devices.

SUMMARY

Various techniques are provided for implementing and operating infraredimaging devices, especially for low power and small form factorapplications. In one embodiment, a system includes a focal plane array(FPA) comprising: an array of infrared sensors adapted to image a scene;a bias circuit adapted to provide a bias voltage to the infraredsensors, wherein the bias voltage is selected from a range ofapproximately 0.2 volts to approximately 0.7 volts; and a read outintegrated circuit (ROIC) adapted to provide signals from the infraredsensors corresponding to captured image frames.

In another embodiment, a system includes a focal plane array (FPA)comprising: an array of infrared sensors adapted to image a scene,wherein a size of the array of infrared sensors is less thanapproximately 160 by 120; and a read out integrated circuit (ROIC)adapted to provide signals from the infrared sensors corresponding tocaptured image frames, wherein the ROIC is adapted to provide thecaptured image frames at a frame rate selected from a range ofapproximately 120 Hz to approximately 480 Hz.

In another embodiment, a method includes providing a bias voltage from abias circuit of a focal plane array (FPA) to an array of infraredsensors of the FPA, wherein the bias voltage is selected from a range ofapproximately 0.2 volts to approximately 0.7 volts; imaging the sceneusing the infrared sensors; and providing signals from the infraredsensors corresponding to captured image frames of the scene using a readout integrated circuit (ROIC) of the FPA.

In another embodiment, a method includes imaging a scene using an arrayof infrared sensors of a focal plane array (FPA), wherein a size of thearray of infrared sensors is less than approximately 160 by 120; andproviding signals from the infrared sensors corresponding to capturedimage frames using a read out integrated circuit (ROIC) of the FPA,wherein the ROIC provides the captured image frames at a frame rateselected from a range of approximately 120 Hz to approximately 480 Hz.

In another embodiment, a system includes a focal plane array (FPA)comprising: a low-dropout regulator (LDO) integrated with the FPA andadapted to provide a regulated voltage in response to an external supplyvoltage; an array of infrared sensors adapted to image a scene; a biascircuit adapted to provide a bias voltage to the infrared sensors inresponse to the regulated voltage; and a read out integrated circuit(ROIC) adapted to provide signals from the infrared sensorscorresponding to captured image frames.

In another embodiment, a method includes receiving an external supplyvoltage at a focal plane array (FPA); providing a regulated voltage inresponse to the external supply voltage using a low-dropout regulator(LDO) integrated with the FPA; providing a bias voltage to an arrayinfrared sensors of the FPA in response to the regulated voltage usingthe bias circuit of the FPA; imaging a scene using the infrared sensors;and providing signals from the infrared sensors corresponding tocaptured image frames using a read out integrated circuit (ROIC) of theFPA.

The scope of the invention is defined by the claims, which areincorporated into this section by reference. A more completeunderstanding of embodiments of the invention will be afforded to thoseskilled in the art, as well as a realization of additional advantagesthereof, by a consideration of the following detailed description of oneor more embodiments. Reference will be made to the appended sheets ofdrawings that will first be described briefly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an infrared imaging module configured to beimplemented in a host device in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an assembled infrared imaging module in accordancewith an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded view of an infrared imaging modulejuxtaposed over a socket in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an infrared sensor assemblyincluding an array of infrared sensors in accordance with an embodimentof the disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of various operations to determine NUCterms in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates differences between neighboring pixels in accordancewith an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flat field correction technique in accordance withan embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates various image processing techniques of FIG. 5 andother operations applied in an image processing pipeline in accordancewith an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a temporal noise reduction process in accordance withan embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates particular implementation details of severalprocesses of the image processing pipeline of FIG. 6 in accordance withan embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates spatially correlated FPN in a neighborhood of pixelsin accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of another implementation of aninfrared sensor assembly including an array of infrared sensors and alow-dropout regulator in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates a circuit diagram of a portion of the infraredsensor assembly of FIG. 12 in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure.

Embodiments of the invention and their advantages are best understood byreferring to the detailed description that follows. It should beappreciated that like reference numerals are used to identify likeelements illustrated in one or more of the figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an infrared imaging module 100 (e.g., an infraredcamera or an infrared imaging device) configured to be implemented in ahost device 102 in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.Infrared imaging module 100 may be implemented, for one or moreembodiments, with a small form factor and in accordance with wafer levelpackaging techniques or other packaging techniques.

In one embodiment, infrared imaging module 100 may be configured to beimplemented in a small portable host device 102, such as a mobiletelephone, a tablet computing device, a laptop computing device, apersonal digital assistant, a visible light camera, a music player, orany other appropriate mobile device. In this regard, infrared imagingmodule 100 may be used to provide infrared imaging features to hostdevice 102. For example, infrared imaging module 100 may be configuredto capture, process, and/or otherwise manage infrared images and providesuch infrared images to host device 102 for use in any desired fashion(e.g., for further processing, to store in memory, to display, to use byvarious applications running on host device 102, to export to otherdevices, or other uses).

In various embodiments, infrared imaging module 100 may be configured tooperate at low voltage levels and over a wide temperature range. Forexample, in one embodiment, infrared imaging module 100 may operateusing a power supply of approximately 2.4 volts, 2.5 volts, 2.8 volts,or lower voltages, and operate over a temperature range of approximately−20 degrees C. to approximately +60 degrees C. (e.g., providing asuitable dynamic range and performance over an environmental temperaturerange of approximately 80 degrees C.). In one embodiment, by operatinginfrared imaging module 100 at low voltage levels, infrared imagingmodule 100 may experience reduced amounts of self heating in comparisonwith other types of infrared imaging devices. As a result, infraredimaging module 100 may be operated with reduced measures to compensatefor such self heating.

As shown in FIG. 1, host device 102 may include a socket 104, a shutter105, motion sensors 194, a processor 195, a memory 196, a display 197,and/or other components 198. Socket 104 may be configured to receiveinfrared imaging module 100 as identified by arrow 101. In this regard,FIG. 2 illustrates infrared imaging module 100 assembled in socket 104in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

Motion sensors 194 may be implemented by one or more accelerometers,gyroscopes, or other appropriate devices that may be used to detectmovement of host device 102. Motion sensors 194 may be monitored by andprovide information to processing module 160 or processor 195 to detectmotion. In various embodiments, motion sensors 194 may be implemented aspart of host device 102 (as shown in FIG. 1), infrared imaging module100, or other devices attached to or otherwise interfaced with hostdevice 102.

Processor 195 may be implemented as any appropriate processing device(e.g., logic device, microcontroller, processor, application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), or other device) that may be used by hostdevice 102 to execute appropriate instructions, such as softwareinstructions provided in memory 196. Display 197 may be used to displaycaptured and/or processed infrared images and/or other images, data, andinformation. Other components 198 may be used to implement any featuresof host device 102 as may be desired for various applications (e.g.,clocks, temperature sensors, a visible light camera, or othercomponents). In addition, a machine readable medium 193 may be providedfor storing non-transitory instructions for loading into memory 196 andexecution by processor 195.

In various embodiments, infrared imaging module 100 and socket 104 maybe implemented for mass production to facilitate high volumeapplications, such as for implementation in mobile telephones or otherdevices (e.g., requiring small form factors). In one embodiment, thecombination of infrared imaging module 100 and socket 104 may exhibitoverall dimensions of approximately 8.5 mm by 8.5 mm by 5.9 mm whileinfrared imaging module 100 is installed in socket 104.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded view of infrared imaging module 100juxtaposed over socket 104 in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure. Infrared imaging module 100 may include a lens barrel 110, ahousing 120, an infrared sensor assembly 128, a circuit board 170, abase 150, and a processing module 160.

Lens barrel 110 may at least partially enclose an optical element 180(e.g., a lens) which is partially visible in FIG. 3 through an aperture112 in lens barrel 110. Lens barrel 110 may include a substantiallycylindrical extension 114 which may be used to interface lens barrel 110with an aperture 122 in housing 120.

Infrared sensor assembly 128 may be implemented, for example, with a cap130 (e.g., a lid) mounted on a substrate 140. Infrared sensor assembly128 may include a plurality of infrared sensors 132 (e.g., infrareddetectors) implemented in an array or other fashion on substrate 140 andcovered by cap 130. For example, in one embodiment, infrared sensorassembly 128 may be implemented as a focal plane array (FPA). Such afocal plane array may be implemented, for example, as a vacuum packageassembly (e.g., sealed by cap 130 and substrate 140). In one embodiment,infrared sensor assembly 128 may be implemented as a wafer level package(e.g., infrared sensor assembly 128 may be singulated from a set ofvacuum package assemblies provided on a wafer). In one embodiment,infrared sensor assembly 128 may be implemented to operate using a powersupply of approximately 2.4 volts, 2.5 volts, 2.8 volts, or similarvoltages.

Infrared sensors 132 may be configured to detect infrared radiation(e.g., infrared energy) from a target scene including, for example, midwave infrared wave bands (MWIR), long wave infrared wave bands (LWIR),and/or other thermal imaging bands as may be desired in particularimplementations. In one embodiment, infrared sensor assembly 128 may beprovided in accordance with wafer level packaging techniques.

Infrared sensors 132 may be implemented, for example, as microbolometersor other types of thermal imaging infrared sensors arranged in anydesired array pattern to provide a plurality of pixels. In oneembodiment, infrared sensors 132 may be implemented as vanadium oxide(VOx) detectors with a 17 μm pixel pitch. In various embodiments, arraysof approximately 32 by 32 infrared sensors 132, approximately 64 by 64infrared sensors 132, approximately 80 by 64 infrared sensors 132, orother array sizes may be used.

Substrate 140 may include various circuitry including, for example, aread out integrated circuit (ROIC) with dimensions less thanapproximately 5.5 mm by 5.5 mm in one embodiment. Substrate 140 may alsoinclude bond pads 142 that may be used to contact complementaryconnections positioned on inside surfaces of housing 120 when infraredimaging module 100 is assembled as shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C. In oneembodiment, the ROIC may be implemented with low-dropout regulators(LDO) to perform voltage regulation to reduce power supply noiseintroduced to infrared sensor assembly 128 and thus provide an improvedpower supply rejection ratio (PSRR). Moreover, by implementing the LDOwith the ROIC (e.g., within a wafer level package), less die area may beconsumed and fewer discrete die (or chips) are needed.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of infrared sensor assembly 128including an array of infrared sensors 132 in accordance with anembodiment of the disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, infraredsensors 132 are provided as part of a unit cell array of a ROIC 402.ROIC 402 includes bias generation and timing control circuitry 404,column amplifiers 405, a column multiplexer 406, a row multiplexer 408,and an output amplifier 410. Image frames (e.g., thermal images)captured by infrared sensors 132 may be provided by output amplifier 410to processing module 160, processor 195, and/or any other appropriatecomponents to perform various processing techniques described herein.Although an 8 by 8 array is shown in FIG. 4, any desired arrayconfiguration may be used in other embodiments. Further descriptions ofROICs and infrared sensors (e.g., microbolometer circuits) may be foundin U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,309 issued Feb. 22, 2000, which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

Infrared sensor assembly 128 may capture images (e.g., image frames) andprovide such images from its ROIC at various rates. Processing module160 may be used to perform appropriate processing of captured infraredimages and may be implemented in accordance with any appropriatearchitecture. In one embodiment, processing module 160 may beimplemented as an ASIC. In this regard, such an ASIC may be configuredto perform image processing with high performance and/or highefficiency. In another embodiment, processing module 160 may beimplemented with a general purpose central processing unit (CPU) whichmay be configured to execute appropriate software instructions toperform image processing, coordinate and perform image processing withvarious image processing blocks, coordinate interfacing betweenprocessing module 160 and host device 102, and/or other operations. Inyet another embodiment, processing module 160 may be implemented with afield programmable gate array (FPGA). Processing module 160 may beimplemented with other types of processing and/or logic circuits inother embodiments as would be understood by one skilled in the art.

In these and other embodiments, processing module 160 may also beimplemented with other components where appropriate, such as, volatilememory, non-volatile memory, and/or one or more interfaces (e.g.,infrared detector interfaces, inter-integrated circuit (I2C) interfaces,mobile industry processor interfaces (MIPI), joint test action group(JTAG) interfaces (e.g., IEEE 1149.1 standard test access port andboundary-scan architecture), and/or other interfaces).

In some embodiments, infrared imaging module 100 may further include oneor more actuators 199 which may be used to adjust the focus of infraredimage frames captured by infrared sensor assembly 128. For example,actuators 199 may be used to move optical element 180, infrared sensors132, and/or other components relative to each other to selectively focusand defocus infrared image frames in accordance with techniquesdescribed herein. Actuators 199 may be implemented in accordance withany type of motion-inducing apparatus or mechanism, and may positionedat any location within or external to infrared imaging module 100 asappropriate for different applications.

When infrared imaging module 100 is assembled, housing 120 maysubstantially enclose infrared sensor assembly 128, base 150, andprocessing module 160. Housing 120 may facilitate connection of variouscomponents of infrared imaging module 100. For example, in oneembodiment, housing 120 may provide electrical connections 126 toconnect various components as further described.

Electrical connections 126 (e.g., conductive electrical paths, traces,or other types of connections) may be electrically connected with bondpads 142 when infrared imaging module 100 is assembled. In variousembodiments, electrical connections 126 may be embedded in housing 120,provided on inside surfaces of housing 120, and/or otherwise provided byhousing 120. Electrical connections 126 may terminate in connections 124protruding from the bottom surface of housing 120 as shown in FIG. 3.Connections 124 may connect with circuit board 170 when infrared imagingmodule 100 is assembled (e.g., housing 120 may rest atop circuit board170 in various embodiments). Processing module 160 may be electricallyconnected with circuit board 170 through appropriate electricalconnections. As a result, infrared sensor assembly 128 may beelectrically connected with processing module 160 through, for example,conductive electrical paths provided by: bond pads 142, complementaryconnections on inside surfaces of housing 120, electrical connections126 of housing 120, connections 124, and circuit board 170.Advantageously, such an arrangement may be implemented without requiringwire bonds to be provided between infrared sensor assembly 128 andprocessing module 160.

In various embodiments, electrical connections 126 in housing 120 may bemade from any desired material (e.g., copper or any other appropriateconductive material). In one embodiment, electrical connections 126 mayaid in dissipating heat from infrared imaging module 100.

Other connections may be used in other embodiments. For example, in oneembodiment, sensor assembly 128 may be attached to processing module 160through a ceramic board that connects to sensor assembly 128 by wirebonds and to processing module 160 by a ball grid array (BGA). Inanother embodiment, sensor assembly 128 may be mounted directly on arigid flexible board and electrically connected with wire bonds, andprocessing module 160 may be mounted and connected to the rigid flexibleboard with wire bonds or a BGA.

The various implementations of infrared imaging module 100 and hostdevice 102 set forth herein are provided for purposes of example, ratherthan limitation. In this regard, any of the various techniques describedherein may be applied to any infrared camera system, infrared imager, orother device for performing infrared/thermal imaging.

Substrate 140 of infrared sensor assembly 128 may be mounted on base150. In various embodiments, base 150 (e.g., a pedestal) may be made,for example, of copper formed by metal injection molding (MIM) andprovided with a black oxide or nickel-coated finish. In variousembodiments, base 150 may be made of any desired material, such as forexample zinc, aluminum, or magnesium, as desired for a given applicationand may be formed by any desired applicable process, such as for examplealuminum casting, MIM, or zinc rapid casting, as may be desired forparticular applications. In various embodiments, base 150 may beimplemented to provide structural support, various circuit paths,thermal heat sink properties, and other features where appropriate. Inone embodiment, base 150 may be a multi-layer structure implemented atleast in part using ceramic material.

In various embodiments, circuit board 170 may receive housing 120 andthus may physically support the various components of infrared imagingmodule 100. In various embodiments, circuit board 170 may be implementedas a printed circuit board (e.g., an FR4 circuit board or other types ofcircuit boards), a rigid or flexible interconnect (e.g., tape or othertype of interconnects), a flexible circuit substrate, a flexible plasticsubstrate, or other appropriate structures. In various embodiments, base150 may be implemented with the various features and attributesdescribed for circuit board 170, and vice versa.

Socket 104 may include a cavity 106 configured to receive infraredimaging module 100 (e.g., as shown in the assembled view of FIG. 2).Infrared imaging module 100 and/or socket 104 may include appropriatetabs, arms, pins, fasteners, or any other appropriate engagement memberswhich may be used to secure infrared imaging module 100 to or withinsocket 104 using friction, tension, adhesion, and/or any otherappropriate manner. Socket 104 may include engagement members 107 thatmay engage surfaces 109 of housing 120 when infrared imaging module 100is inserted into a cavity 106 of socket 104. Other types of engagementmembers may be used in other embodiments.

Infrared imaging module 100 may be electrically connected with socket104 through appropriate electrical connections (e.g., contacts, pins,wires, or any other appropriate connections). For example, socket 104may include electrical connections 108 which may contact correspondingelectrical connections of infrared imaging module 100 (e.g.,interconnect pads, contacts, or other electrical connections on side orbottom surfaces of circuit board 170, bond pads 142 or other electricalconnections on base 150, or other connections). Electrical connections108 may be made from any desired material (e.g., copper or any otherappropriate conductive material). In one embodiment, electricalconnections 108 may be mechanically biased to press against electricalconnections of infrared imaging module 100 when infrared imaging module100 is inserted into cavity 106 of socket 104. In one embodiment,electrical connections 108 may at least partially secure infraredimaging module 100 in socket 104. Other types of electrical connectionsmay be used in other embodiments.

Socket 104 may be electrically connected with host device 102 throughsimilar types of electrical connections. For example, in one embodiment,host device 102 may include electrical connections (e.g., solderedconnections, snap-in connections, or other connections) that connectwith electrical connections 108 passing through apertures 190. Invarious embodiments, such electrical connections may be made to thesides and/or bottom of socket 104.

Various components of infrared imaging module 100 may be implementedwith flip chip technology which may be used to mount components directlyto circuit boards without the additional clearances typically needed forwire bond connections. Flip chip connections may be used, as an example,to reduce the overall size of infrared imaging module 100 for use incompact small form factor applications. For example, in one embodiment,processing module 160 may be mounted to circuit board 170 using flipchip connections. For example, infrared imaging module 100 may beimplemented with such flip chip configurations.

In various embodiments, infrared imaging module 100 and/or associatedcomponents may be implemented in accordance with various techniques(e.g., wafer level packaging techniques) as set forth in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/844,124 filed Jul. 27, 2010, and U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/469,651 filed Mar. 30, 2011, whichare incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Furthermore, inaccordance with one or more embodiments, infrared imaging module 100and/or associated components may be implemented, calibrated, tested,and/or used in accordance with various techniques, such as for exampleas set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 7,470,902 issued Dec. 30, 2008, U.S. Pat.No. 6,028,309 issued Feb. 22, 2000, U.S. Pat. No. 6,812,465 issued Nov.2, 2004, U.S. Pat. No. 7,034,301 issued Apr. 25, 2006, U.S. Pat. No.7,679,048 issued Mar. 16, 2010, U.S. Pat. No. 7,470,904 issued Dec. 30,2008, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/202,880 filed Sep. 2, 2008,and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/202,896 filed Sep. 2, 2008,which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Referring again to FIG. 1, in various embodiments, host device 102 mayinclude shutter 105. In this regard, shutter 105 may be selectivelypositioned over socket 104 (e.g., as identified by arrows 103) whileinfrared imaging module 100 is installed therein. In this regard,shutter 105 may be used, for example, to protect infrared imaging module100 when not in use. Shutter 105 may also be used as a temperaturereference as part of a calibration process (e.g., a NUC process or othercalibration processes) for infrared imaging module 100 as would beunderstood by one skilled in the art.

In various embodiments, shutter 105 may be made from various materialssuch as, for example, polymers, glass, aluminum (e.g., painted oranodized) or other materials. In various embodiments, shutter 105 mayinclude one or more coatings to selectively filter electromagneticradiation and/or adjust various optical properties of shutter 105 (e.g.,a uniform blackbody coating or a reflective gold coating).

In another embodiment, shutter 105 may be fixed in place to protectinfrared imaging module 100 at all times. In this case, shutter 105 or aportion of shutter 105 may be made from appropriate materials (e.g.,polymers or infrared transmitting materials such as silicon, germanium,zinc selenide, or chalcogenide glasses) that do not substantially filterdesired infrared wavelengths. In another embodiment, a shutter may beimplemented as part of infrared imaging module 100 (e.g., within or aspart of a lens barrel or other components of infrared imaging module100), as would be understood by one skilled in the art.

Alternatively, in another embodiment, a shutter (e.g., shutter 105 orother type of external or internal shutter) need not be provided, butrather a NUC process or other type of calibration may be performed usingshutterless techniques. In another embodiment, a NUC process or othertype of calibration using shutterless techniques may be performed incombination with shutter-based techniques.

Infrared imaging module 100 and host device 102 may be implemented inaccordance with any of the various techniques set forth in U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/495,873 filed Jun. 10, 2011, U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/495,879 filed Jun. 10, 2011, andU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/495,888 filed Jun. 10, 2011,which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

In various embodiments, the components of host device 102 and/orinfrared imaging module 100 may be implemented as a local or distributedsystem with components in communication with each other over wiredand/or wireless networks. Accordingly, the various operations identifiedin this disclosure may be performed by local and/or remote components asmay be desired in particular implementations.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of various operations to determine NUCterms in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. In someembodiments, the operations of FIG. 5 may be performed by processingmodule 160 or processor 195 (both also generally referred to as aprocessor) operating on image frames captured by infrared sensors 132.

In block 505, infrared sensors 132 begin capturing image frames of ascene. Typically, the scene will be the real world environment in whichhost device 102 is currently located. In this regard, shutter 105 (ifoptionally provided) may be opened to permit infrared imaging module toreceive infrared radiation from the scene. Infrared sensors 132 maycontinue capturing image frames during all operations shown in FIG. 5.In this regard, the continuously captured image frames may be used forvarious operations as further discussed. In one embodiment, the capturedimage frames may be temporally filtered (e.g., in accordance with theprocess of block 826 further described herein with regard to FIG. 8) andbe processed by other terms (e.g., factory gain terms 812, factoryoffset terms 816, previously determined NUC terms 817, column FPN terms820, and row FPN terms 824 as further described herein with regard toFIG. 8) before they are used in the operations shown in FIG. 5.

In block 510, a NUC process initiating event is detected. In oneembodiment, the NUC process may be initiated in response to physicalmovement of host device 102. Such movement may be detected, for example,by motion sensors 194 which may be polled by a processor. In oneexample, a user may move host device 102 in a particular manner, such asby intentionally waving host device 102 back and forth in an “erase” or“swipe” movement. In this regard, the user may move host device 102 inaccordance with a predetermined speed and direction (velocity), such asin an up and down, side to side, or other pattern to initiate the NUCprocess. In this example, the use of such movements may permit the userto intuitively operate host device 102 to simulate the “erasing” ofnoise in captured image frames.

In another example, a NUC process may be initiated by host device 102 ifmotion exceeding a threshold value is exceeded (e.g., motion greaterthan expected for ordinary use). It is contemplated that any desiredtype of spatial translation of host device 102 may be used to initiatethe NUC process.

In yet another example, a NUC process may be initiated by host device102 if a minimum time has elapsed since a previously performed NUCprocess. In a further example, a NUC process may be initiated by hostdevice 102 if infrared imaging module 100 has experienced a minimumtemperature change since a previously performed NUC process. In a stillfurther example, a NUC process may be continuously initiated andrepeated.

In block 515, after a NUC process initiating event is detected, it isdetermined whether the NUC process should actually be performed. In thisregard, the NUC process may be selectively initiated based on whetherone or more additional conditions are met. For example, in oneembodiment, the NUC process may not be performed unless a minimum timehas elapsed since a previously performed NUC process. In anotherembodiment, the NUC process may not be performed unless infrared imagingmodule 100 has experienced a minimum temperature change since apreviously performed NUC process. Other criteria or conditions may beused in other embodiments. If appropriate criteria or conditions havebeen met, then the flow diagram continues to block 520. Otherwise, theflow diagram returns to block 505.

In the NUC process, blurred image frames may be used to determine NUCterms which may be applied to captured image frames to correct for FPN.As discussed, in one embodiment, the blurred image frames may beobtained by accumulating multiple image frames of a moving scene (e.g.,captured while the scene and/or the thermal imager is in motion). Inanother embodiment, the blurred image frames may be obtained bydefocusing an optical element or other component of the thermal imager.

Accordingly, in block 520 a choice of either approach is provided. Ifthe motion-based approach is used, then the flow diagram continues toblock 525. If the defocus-based approach is used, then the flow diagramcontinues to block 530.

Referring now to the motion-based approach, in block 525 motion isdetected. For example, in one embodiment, motion may be detected basedon the image frames captured by infrared sensors 132. In this regard, anappropriate motion detection process (e.g., an image registrationprocess, a frame-to-frame difference calculation, or other appropriateprocess) may be applied to captured image frames to determine whethermotion is present (e.g., whether static or moving image frames have beencaptured). For example, in one embodiment, it can be determined whetherpixels or regions around the pixels of consecutive image frames havechanged more than a user defined amount (e.g., a percentage and/orthreshold value). If at least a given percentage of pixels have changedby at least the user defined amount, then motion will be detected withsufficient certainty to proceed to block 535.

In another embodiment, motion may be determined on a per pixel basis,wherein only pixels that exhibit significant changes are accumulated toprovide the blurred image frame. For example, counters may be providedfor each pixel and used to ensure that the same number of pixel valuesare accumulated for each pixel, or used to average the pixel valuesbased on the number of pixel values actually accumulated for each pixel.Other types of image-based motion detection may be performed such asperforming a Radon transform.

In another embodiment, motion may be detected based on data provided bymotion sensors 194. In one embodiment, such motion detection may includedetecting whether host device 102 is moving along a relatively straighttrajectory through space. For example, if host device 102 is movingalong a relatively straight trajectory, then it is possible that certainobjects appearing in the imaged scene may not be sufficiently blurred(e.g., objects in the scene that may be aligned with or movingsubstantially parallel to the straight trajectory). Thus, in such anembodiment, the motion detected by motion sensors 194 may be conditionedon host device 102 exhibiting, or not exhibiting, particulartrajectories.

In yet another embodiment, both a motion detection process and motionsensors 194 may be used. Thus, using any of these various embodiments, adetermination can be made as to whether or not each image frame wascaptured while at least a portion of the scene and host device 102 werein motion relative to each other (e.g., which may be caused by hostdevice 102 moving relative to the scene, at least a portion of the scenemoving relative to host device 102, or both).

It is expected that the image frames for which motion was detected mayexhibit some secondary blurring of the captured scene (e.g., blurredthermal image data associated with the scene) due to the thermal timeconstants of infrared sensors 132 (e.g., microbolometer thermal timeconstants) interacting with the scene movement.

In block 535, image frames for which motion was detected areaccumulated. For example, if motion is detected for a continuous seriesof image frames, then the image frames of the series may be accumulated.As another example, if motion is detected for only some image frames,then the non-moving image frames may be skipped and not included in theaccumulation. Thus, a continuous or discontinuous set of image framesmay be selected to be accumulated based on the detected motion.

In block 540, the accumulated image frames are averaged to provide ablurred image frame. Because the accumulated image frames were capturedduring motion, it is expected that actual scene information will varybetween the image frames and thus cause the scene information to befurther blurred in the resulting blurred image frame (block 545).

In contrast, FPN (e.g., caused by one or more components of infraredimaging module 100) will remain fixed over at least short periods oftime and over at least limited changes in scene irradiance duringmotion. As a result, image frames captured in close proximity in timeand space during motion will suffer from identical or at least verysimilar FPN. Thus, although scene information may change in consecutiveimage frames, the FPN will stay essentially constant. By averaging,multiple image frames captured during motion will blur the sceneinformation, but will not blur the FPN. As a result, FPN will remainmore clearly defined in the blurred image frame provided in block 545than the scene information.

In one embodiment, 32 or more image frames are accumulated and averagedin blocks 535 and 540. However, any desired number of image frames maybe used in other embodiments, but with generally decreasing correctionaccuracy as frame count is decreased.

Referring now to the defocus-based approach, in block 530, a defocusoperation may be performed to intentionally defocus the image framescaptured by infrared sensors 132. For example, in one embodiment, one ormore actuators 199 may be used to adjust, move, or otherwise translateoptical element 180, infrared sensor assembly 128, and/or othercomponents of infrared imaging module 100 to cause infrared sensors 132to capture a blurred (e.g., unfocused) image frame of the scene. Othernon-actuator based techniques are also contemplated for intentionallydefocusing infrared image frames such as, for example, manual (e.g.,user-initiated) defocusing.

Although the scene may appear blurred in the image frame, FPN (e.g.,caused by one or more components of infrared imaging module 100) willremain unaffected by the defocusing operation. As a result, a blurredimage frame of the scene will be provided (block 545) with FPN remainingmore clearly defined in the blurred image than the scene information.

In the above discussion, the defocus-based approach has been describedwith regard to a single captured image frame. In another embodiment, thedefocus-based approach may include accumulating multiple image frameswhile the infrared imaging module 100 has been defocused and averagingthe defocused image frames to remove the effects of temporal noise andprovide a blurred image frame in block 545.

Thus, it will be appreciated that a blurred image frame may be providedin block 545 by either the motion-based approach or the defocus-basedapproach. Because much of the scene information will be blurred byeither motion, defocusing, or both, the blurred image frame may beeffectively considered a low pass filtered version of the originalcaptured image frames with respect to scene information.

In block 550, the blurred image frame is processed to determine updatedrow and column FPN terms (e.g., if row and column FPN terms have notbeen previously determined then the updated row and column FPN terms maybe new row and column FPN terms in the first iteration of block 550). Asused in this disclosure, the terms row and column may be usedinterchangeably depending on the orientation of infrared sensors 132and/or other components of infrared imaging module 100.

In one embodiment, block 550 includes determining a spatial FPNcorrection term for each row of the blurred image frame (e.g., each rowmay have its own spatial FPN correction term), and also determining aspatial FPN correction term for each column of the blurred image frame(e.g., each column may have its own spatial FPN correction term). Suchprocessing may be used to reduce the spatial and slowly varying (1/f)row and column FPN inherent in thermal imagers caused by, for example,1/f noise characteristics of amplifiers in ROIC 402 which may manifestas vertical and horizontal stripes in image frames.

Advantageously, by determining spatial row and column FPN terms usingthe blurred image frame, there will be a reduced risk of vertical andhorizontal objects in the actual imaged scene from being mistaken forrow and column noise (e.g., real scene content will be blurred while FPNremains unblurred).

In one embodiment, row and column FPN terms may be determined byconsidering differences between neighboring pixels of the blurred imageframe. For example, FIG. 6 illustrates differences between neighboringpixels in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. Specifically,in FIG. 6 a pixel 610 is compared to its 8 nearest horizontal neighbors:d0-d3 on one side and d4-d7 on the other side. Differences between theneighbor pixels can be averaged to obtain an estimate of the offseterror of the illustrated group of pixels. An offset error may becalculated for each pixel in a row or column and the average result maybe used to correct the entire row or column.

To prevent real scene data from being interpreted as noise, upper andlower threshold values may be used (thPix and −thPix). Pixel valuesfalling outside these threshold values (pixels d1 and d4 in thisexample) are not used to obtain the offset error. In addition, themaximum amount of row and column FPN correction may be limited by thesethreshold values.

Further techniques for performing spatial row and column FPN correctionprocessing are set forth in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/396,340filed Mar. 2, 2009 which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Referring again to FIG. 5, the updated row and column FPN termsdetermined in block 550 are stored (block 552) and applied (block 555)to the blurred image frame provided in block 545. After these terms areapplied, some of the spatial row and column FPN in the blurred imageframe may be reduced. However, because such terms are applied generallyto rows and columns, additional FPN may remain such as spatiallyuncorrelated FPN associated with pixel to pixel drift or other causes.Neighborhoods of spatially correlated FPN may also remain which may notbe directly associated with individual rows and columns. Accordingly,further processing may be performed as discussed below to determine NUCterms.

In block 560, local contrast values (e.g., edges or absolute values ofgradients between adjacent or small groups of pixels) in the blurredimage frame are determined. If scene information in the blurred imageframe includes contrasting areas that have not been significantlyblurred (e.g., high contrast edges in the original scene data), thensuch features may be identified by a contrast determination process inblock 560.

For example, local contrast values in the blurred image frame may becalculated, or any other desired type of edge detection process may beapplied to identify certain pixels in the blurred image as being part ofan area of local contrast. Pixels that are marked in this manner may beconsidered as containing excessive high spatial frequency sceneinformation that would be interpreted as FPN (e.g., such regions maycorrespond to portions of the scene that have not been sufficientlyblurred). As such, these pixels may be excluded from being used in thefurther determination of NUC terms. In one embodiment, such contrastdetection processing may rely on a threshold that is higher than theexpected contrast value associated with FPN (e.g., pixels exhibiting acontrast value higher than the threshold may be considered to be sceneinformation, and those lower than the threshold may be considered to beexhibiting FPN).

In one embodiment, the contrast determination of block 560 may beperformed on the blurred image frame after row and column FPN terms havebeen applied to the blurred image frame (e.g., as shown in FIG. 5). Inanother embodiment, block 560 may be performed prior to block 550 todetermine contrast before row and column FPN terms are determined (e.g.,to prevent scene based contrast from contributing to the determinationof such terms).

Following block 560, it is expected that any high spatial frequencycontent remaining in the blurred image frame may be generally attributedto spatially uncorrelated FPN. In this regard, following block 560, muchof the other noise or actual desired scene based information has beenremoved or excluded from the blurred image frame due to: intentionalblurring of the image frame (e.g., by motion or defocusing in blocks 520through 545), application of row and column FPN terms (block 555), andcontrast determination (block 560).

Thus, it can be expected that following block 560, any remaining highspatial frequency content (e.g., exhibited as areas of contrast ordifferences in the blurred image frame) may be attributed to spatiallyuncorrelated FPN. Accordingly, in block 565, the blurred image frame ishigh pass filtered. In one embodiment, this may include applying a highpass filter to extract the high spatial frequency content from theblurred image frame. In another embodiment, this may include applying alow pass filter to the blurred image frame and taking a differencebetween the low pass filtered image frame and the unfiltered blurredimage frame to obtain the high spatial frequency content. In accordancewith various embodiments of the present disclosure, a high pass filtermay be implemented by calculating a mean difference between a sensorsignal (e.g., a pixel value) and its neighbors.

In block 570, a flat field correction process is performed on the highpass filtered blurred image frame to determine updated NUC terms (e.g.,if a NUC process has not previously been performed then the updated NUCterms may be new NUC terms in the first iteration of block 570).

For example, FIG. 7 illustrates a flat field correction technique 700 inaccordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. In FIG. 7, a NUC termmay be determined for each pixel 710 of the blurred image frame usingthe values of its neighboring pixels 712 to 726. For each pixel 710,several gradients may be determined based on the absolute differencebetween the values of various adjacent pixels. For example, absolutevalue differences may be determined between: pixels 712 and 714 (a leftto right diagonal gradient), pixels 716 and 718 (a top to bottomvertical gradient), pixels 720 and 722 (a right to left diagonalgradient), and pixels 724 and 726 (a left to right horizontal gradient).

These absolute differences may be summed to provide a summed gradientfor pixel 710. A weight value may be determined for pixel 710 that isinversely proportional to the summed gradient. This process may beperformed for all pixels 710 of the blurred image frame until a weightvalue is provided for each pixel 710. For areas with low gradients(e.g., areas that are blurry or have low contrast), the weight valuewill be close to one. Conversely, for areas with high gradients, theweight value will be zero or close to zero. The update to the NUC termas estimated by the high pass filter is multiplied with the weightvalue.

In one embodiment, the risk of introducing scene information into theNUC terms can be further reduced by applying some amount of temporaldamping to the NUC term determination process. For example, a temporaldamping factor λ between 0 and 1 may be chosen such that the new NUCterm (NUC_(NEW)) stored is a weighted average of the old NUC term(NUC_(OLD)) and the estimated updated NUC term (NUC_(UPDATE)). In oneembodiment, this can be expressed asNUC_(NEW)=λ·NUC_(OLD)+(1−λ)·(NUC_(OLD)+NUC_(UPDATE)).

Although the determination of NUC terms has been described with regardto gradients, local contrast values may be used instead whereappropriate. Other techniques may also be used such as, for example,standard deviation calculations. Other types flat field correctionprocesses may be performed to determine NUC terms including, forexample, various processes identified in U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,309 issuedFeb. 22, 2000, U.S. Pat. No. 6,812,465 issued Nov. 2, 2004, and U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/114,865 filed May 5, 2008, which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Referring again to FIG. 5, block 570 may include additional processingof the NUC terms. For example, in one embodiment, to preserve the scenesignal mean, the sum of all NUC terms may be normalized to zero bysubtracting the NUC term mean from each NUC term. Also in block 570, toavoid row and column noise from affecting the NUC terms, the mean valueof each row and column may be subtracted from the NUC terms for each rowand column. As a result, row and column FPN filters using the row andcolumn FPN terms determined in block 550 may be better able to filterout row and column noise in further iterations (e.g., as further shownin FIG. 8) after the NUC terms are applied to captured images (e.g., inblock 580 further discussed herein). In this regard, the row and columnFPN filters may in general use more data to calculate the per row andper column offset coefficients (e.g., row and column FPN terms) and maythus provide a more robust alternative for reducing spatially correlatedFPN than the NUC terms which are based on high pass filtering to capturespatially uncorrelated noise.

In blocks 571-573, additional high pass filtering and furtherdeterminations of updated NUC terms may be optionally performed toremove spatially correlated FPN with lower spatial frequency thanpreviously removed by row and column FPN terms. In this regard, somevariability in infrared sensors 132 or other components of infraredimaging module 100 may result in spatially correlated FPN noise thatcannot be easily modeled as row or column noise. Such spatiallycorrelated FPN may include, for example, window defects on a sensorpackage or a cluster of infrared sensors 132 that respond differently toirradiance than neighboring infrared sensors 132. In one embodiment,such spatially correlated FPN may be mitigated with an offsetcorrection. If the amount of such spatially correlated FPN issignificant, then the noise may also be detectable in the blurred imageframe. Since this type of noise may affect a neighborhood of pixels, ahigh pass filter with a small kernel may not detect the FPN in theneighborhood (e.g., all values used in high pass filter may be takenfrom the neighborhood of affected pixels and thus may be affected by thesame offset error). For example, if the high pass filtering of block 565is performed with a small kernel (e.g., considering only immediatelyadjacent pixels that fall within a neighborhood of pixels affected byspatially correlated FPN), then broadly distributed spatially correlatedFPN may not be detected.

For example, FIG. 11 illustrates spatially correlated FPN in aneighborhood of pixels in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure. As shown in a sample image frame 1100, a neighborhood ofpixels 1110 may exhibit spatially correlated FPN that is not preciselycorrelated to individual rows and columns and is distributed over aneighborhood of several pixels (e.g., a neighborhood of approximately 4by 4 pixels in this example). Sample image frame 1100 also includes aset of pixels 1120 exhibiting substantially uniform response that arenot used in filtering calculations, and a set of pixels 1130 that areused to estimate a low pass value for the neighborhood of pixels 1110.In one embodiment, pixels 1130 may be a number of pixels divisible bytwo in order to facilitate efficient hardware or software calculations.

Referring again to FIG. 5, in blocks 571-573, additional high passfiltering and further determinations of updated NUC terms may beoptionally performed to remove spatially correlated FPN such asexhibited by pixels 1110. In block 571, the updated NUC terms determinedin block 570 are applied to the blurred image frame. Thus, at this time,the blurred image frame will have been initially corrected for spatiallycorrelated FPN (e.g., by application of the updated row and column FPNterms in block 555), and also initially corrected for spatiallyuncorrelated FPN (e.g., by application of the updated NUC terms appliedin block 571).

In block 572, a further high pass filter is applied with a larger kernelthan was used in block 565, and further updated NUC terms may bedetermined in block 573. For example, to detect the spatially correlatedFPN present in pixels 1110, the high pass filter applied in block 572may include data from a sufficiently large enough neighborhood of pixelssuch that differences can be determined between unaffected pixels (e.g.,pixels 1120) and affected pixels (e.g., pixels 1110). For example, a lowpass filter with a large kernel can be used (e.g., an N by N kernel thatis much greater than 3 by 3 pixels) and the results may be subtracted toperform appropriate high pass filtering.

In one embodiment, for computational efficiency, a sparse kernel may beused such that only a small number of neighboring pixels inside an N byN neighborhood are used. For any given high pass filter operation usingdistant neighbors (e.g., a large kernel), there is a risk of modelingactual (potentially blurred) scene information as spatially correlatedFPN. Accordingly, in one embodiment, the temporal damping factor λ maybe set close to 1 for updated NUC terms determined in block 573.

In various embodiments, blocks 571-573 may be repeated (e.g., cascaded)to iteratively perform high pass filtering with increasing kernel sizesto provide further updated NUC terms further correct for spatiallycorrelated FPN of desired neighborhood sizes. In one embodiment, thedecision to perform such iterations may be determined by whetherspatially correlated FPN has actually been removed by the updated NUCterms of the previous performance of blocks 571-573.

After blocks 571-573 are finished, a decision is made regarding whetherto apply the updated NUC terms to captured image frames (block 574). Forexample, if an average of the absolute value of the NUC terms for theentire image frame is less than a minimum threshold value, or greaterthan a maximum threshold value, the NUC terms may be deemed spurious orunlikely to provide meaningful correction. Alternatively, thresholdingcriteria may be applied to individual pixels to determine which pixelsreceive updated NUC terms. In one embodiment, the threshold values maycorrespond to differences between the newly calculated NUC terms andpreviously calculated NUC terms. In another embodiment, the thresholdvalues may be independent of previously calculated NUC terms. Othertests may be applied (e.g., spatial correlation tests) to determinewhether the NUC terms should be applied.

If the NUC terms are deemed spurious or unlikely to provide meaningfulcorrection, then the flow diagram returns to block 505. Otherwise, thenewly determined NUC terms are stored (block 575) to replace previousNUC terms (e.g., determined by a previously performed iteration of FIG.5) and applied (block 580) to captured image frames.

FIG. 8 illustrates various image processing techniques of FIG. 5 andother operations applied in an image processing pipeline 800 inaccordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. In this regard,pipeline 800 identifies various operations of FIG. 5 in the context ofan overall iterative image processing scheme for correcting image framesprovided by infrared imaging module 100. In some embodiments, pipeline800 may be provided by processing module 160 or processor 195 (both alsogenerally referred to as a processor) operating on image frames capturedby infrared sensors 132.

Image frames captured by infrared sensors 132 may be provided to a frameaverager 804 that integrates multiple image frames to provide imageframes 802 with an improved signal to noise ratio. Frame averager 804may be effectively provided by infrared sensors 132, ROIC 402, and othercomponents of infrared sensor assembly 128 that are implemented tosupport high image capture rates. For example, in one embodiment,infrared sensor assembly 128 may capture infrared image frames at aframe rate of 240 Hz (e.g., 240 images per second). In this embodiment,such a high frame rate may be implemented, for example, by operatinginfrared sensor assembly 128 at relatively low voltages (e.g.,compatible with mobile telephone voltages) and by using a relativelysmall array of infrared sensors 132 (e.g., an array of 64 by 64 infraredsensors in one embodiment).

In one embodiment, such infrared image frames may be provided frominfrared sensor assembly 128 to processing module 160 at a high framerate (e.g., 240 Hz or other frame rates). In another embodiment,infrared sensor assembly 128 may integrate over longer time periods, ormultiple time periods, to provide integrated (e.g., averaged) infraredimage frames to processing module 160 at a lower frame rate (e.g., 30Hz, 9 Hz, or other frame rates). Further information regardingimplementations that may be used to provide high image capture rates maybe found in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/495,879previously referenced herein.

Image frames 802 proceed through pipeline 800 where they are adjusted byvarious terms, temporally filtered, used to determine the variousadjustment terms, and gain compensated.

In blocks 810 and 814, factory gain terms 812 and factory offset terms816 are applied to image frames 802 to compensate for gain and offsetdifferences, respectively, between the various infrared sensors 132and/or other components of infrared imaging module 100 determined duringmanufacturing and testing.

In block 580, NUC terms 817 are applied to image frames 802 to correctfor FPN as discussed. In one embodiment, if NUC terms 817 have not yetbeen determined (e.g., before a NUC process has been initiated), thenblock 580 may not be performed or initialization values may be used forNUC terms 817 that result in no alteration to the image data (e.g.,offsets for every pixel would be equal to zero).

In blocks 818 and 822, column FPN terms 820 and row FPN terms 824,respectively, are applied to image frames 802. Column FPN terms 820 androw FPN terms 824 may be determined in accordance with block 550 asdiscussed. In one embodiment, if the column FPN terms 820 and row FPNterms 824 have not yet been determined (e.g., before a NUC process hasbeen initiated), then blocks 818 and 822 may not be performed orinitialization values may be used for the column FPN terms 820 and rowFPN terms 824 that result in no alteration to the image data (e.g.,offsets for every pixel would be equal to zero).

In block 826, temporal filtering is performed on image frames 802 inaccordance with a temporal noise reduction (TNR) process. FIG. 9illustrates a TNR process in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure. In FIG. 9, a presently received image frame 802 a and apreviously temporally filtered image frame 802 b are processed todetermine a new temporally filtered image frame 802 e. Image frames 802a and 802 b include local neighborhoods of pixels 803 a and 803 bcentered around pixels 805 a and 805 b, respectively. Neighborhoods 803a and 803 b correspond to the same locations within image frames 802 aand 802 b and are subsets of the total pixels in image frames 802 a and802 b. In the illustrated embodiment, neighborhoods 803 a and 803 binclude areas of 5 by 5 pixels. Other neighborhood sizes may be used inother embodiments.

Differences between corresponding pixels of neighborhoods 803 a and 803b are determined and averaged to provide an averaged delta value 805 cfor the location corresponding to pixels 805 a and 805 b. Averaged deltavalue 805 c may be used to determine weight values in block 807 to beapplied to pixels 805 a and 805 b of image frames 802 a and 802 b.

In one embodiment, as shown in graph 809, the weight values determinedin block 807 may be inversely proportional to averaged delta value 805 csuch that weight values drop rapidly towards zero when there are largedifferences between neighborhoods 803 a and 803 b. In this regard, largedifferences between neighborhoods 803 a and 803 b may indicate thatchanges have occurred within the scene (e.g., due to motion) and pixels802 a and 802 b may be appropriately weighted, in one embodiment, toavoid introducing blur across frame-to-frame scene changes. Otherassociations between weight values and averaged delta value 805 c may beused in various embodiments.

The weight values determined in block 807 may be applied to pixels 805 aand 805 b to determine a value for corresponding pixel 805 e of imageframe 802 e (block 811). In this regard, pixel 805 e may have a valuethat is a weighted average (or other combination) of pixels 805 a and805 b, depending on averaged delta value 805 c and the weight valuesdetermined in block 807.

For example, pixel 805 e of temporally filtered image frame 802 e may bea weighted sum of pixels 805 a and 805 b of image frames 802 a and 802b. If the average difference between pixels 805 a and 805 b is due tonoise, then it may be expected that the average change betweenneighborhoods 805 a and 805 b will be close to zero (e.g., correspondingto the average of uncorrelated changes). Under such circumstances, itmay be expected that the sum of the differences between neighborhoods805 a and 805 b will be close to zero. In this case, pixel 805 a ofimage frame 802 a may both be appropriately weighted so as to contributeto the value of pixel 805 e.

However, if the sum of such differences is not zero (e.g., evendiffering from zero by a small amount in one embodiment), then thechanges may be interpreted as being attributed to motion instead ofnoise. Thus, motion may be detected based on the average changeexhibited by neighborhoods 805 a and 805 b. Under these circumstances,pixel 805 a of image frame 802 a may be weighted heavily, while pixel805 b of image frame 802 b may be weighted lightly.

Other embodiments are also contemplated. For example, although averageddelta value 805 c has been described as being determined based onneighborhoods 805 a and 805 b, in other embodiments averaged delta value805 c may be determined based on any desired criteria (e.g., based onindividual pixels or other types of groups of sets of pixels).

In the above embodiments, image frame 802 a has been described as apresently received image frame and image frame 802 b has been describedas a previously temporally filtered image frame. In another embodiment,image frames 802 a and 802 b may be first and second image framescaptured by infrared imaging module 100 that have not been temporallyfiltered.

FIG. 10 illustrates further implementation details in relation to theTNR process of block 826. As shown in FIG. 10, image frames 802 a and802 b may be read into line buffers 1010 a and 1010 b, respectively, andimage frame 802 b (e.g., the previous image frame) may be stored in aframe buffer 1020 before being read into line buffer 1010 b. In oneembodiment, line buffers 1010 a-b and frame buffer 1020 may beimplemented by a block of random access memory (RAM) provided by anyappropriate component of infrared imaging module 100 and/or host device102.

Referring again to FIG. 8, image frame 802 e may be passed to anautomatic gain compensation block 828 for further processing to providea result image frame 830 that may be used by host device 102 as desired.

FIG. 8 further illustrates various operations that may be performed todetermine row and column FPN terms and NUC terms as discussed. In oneembodiment, these operations may use image frames 802 e as shown in FIG.8. Because image frames 802 e have already been temporally filtered, atleast some temporal noise may be removed and thus will not inadvertentlyaffect the determination of row and column FPN terms 824 and 820 and NUCterms 817. In another embodiment, non-temporally filtered image frames802 may be used.

In FIG. 8, blocks 510, 515, and 520 of FIG. 5 are collectivelyrepresented together. As discussed, a NUC process may be selectivelyinitiated and performed in response to various NUC process initiatingevents and based on various criteria or conditions. As also discussed,the NUC process may be performed in accordance with a motion-basedapproach (blocks 525, 535, and 540) or a defocus-based approach (block530) to provide a blurred image frame (block 545). FIG. 8 furtherillustrates various additional blocks 550, 552, 555, 560, 565, 570, 571,572, 573, and 575 previously discussed with regard to FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 8, row and column FPN terms 824 and 820 and NUC terms817 may be determined and applied in an iterative fashion such thatupdated terms are determined using image frames 802 to which previousterms have already been applied. As a result, the overall process ofFIG. 8 may repeatedly update and apply such terms to continuously reducethe noise in image frames 830 to be used by host device 102.

Referring again to FIG. 10, further implementation details areillustrated for various blocks of FIGS. 5 and 8 in relation to pipeline800. For example, blocks 525, 535, and 540 are shown as operating at thenormal frame rate of image frames 802 received by pipeline 800. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 10, the determination made in block 525 isrepresented as a decision diamond used to determine whether a givenimage frame 802 has sufficiently changed such that it may be consideredan image frame that will enhance the blur if added to other image framesand is therefore accumulated (block 535 is represented by an arrow inthis embodiment) and averaged (block 540).

Also in FIG. 10, the determination of column FPN terms 820 (block 550)is shown as operating at an update rate that in this example is 1/32 ofthe sensor frame rate (e.g., normal frame rate) due to the averagingperformed in block 540. Other update rates may be used in otherembodiments. Although only column FPN terms 820 are identified in FIG.10, row FPN terms 824 may be implemented in a similar fashion at thereduced frame rate.

FIG. 10 also illustrates further implementation details in relation tothe NUC determination process of block 570. In this regard, the blurredimage frame may be read to a line buffer 1030 (e.g., implemented by ablock of RAM provided by any appropriate component of infrared imagingmodule 100 and/or host device 102). The flat field correction technique700 of FIG. 7 may be performed on the blurred image frame.

In view of the present disclosure, it will be appreciated thattechniques described herein may be used to remove various types of FPN(e.g., including very high amplitude FPN) such as spatially correlatedrow and column FPN and spatially uncorrelated FPN.

Other embodiments are also contemplated. For example, in one embodiment,the rate at which row and column FPN terms and/or NUC terms are updatedcan be inversely proportional to the estimated amount of blur in theblurred image frame and/or inversely proportional to the magnitude oflocal contrast values (e.g., determined in block 560).

In various embodiments, the described techniques may provide advantagesover conventional shutter-based noise correction techniques. Forexample, by using a shutterless process, a shutter (e.g., such asshutter 105) need not be provided, thus permitting reductions in size,weight, cost, and mechanical complexity. Power and maximum voltagesupplied to, or generated by, infrared imaging module 100 may also bereduced if a shutter does not need to be mechanically operated.Reliability will be improved by removing the shutter as a potentialpoint of failure. A shutterless process also eliminates potential imageinterruption caused by the temporary blockage of the imaged scene by ashutter.

Also, by correcting for noise using intentionally blurred image framescaptured from a real world scene (not a uniform scene provided by ashutter), noise correction may be performed on image frames that haveirradiance levels similar to those of the actual scene desired to beimaged. This can improve the accuracy and effectiveness of noisecorrection terms determined in accordance with the various describedtechniques.

As discussed, in various embodiments, infrared imaging module 100 may beconfigured to operate at low voltage levels. In particular, infraredimaging module 100 may be implemented with circuitry configured tooperate at low power and/or in accordance with other parameters thatpermit infrared imaging module 100 to be conveniently and effectivelyimplemented in various types of host devices 102, such as mobile devicesand other devices.

For example, FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of anotherimplementation of infrared sensor assembly 128 including infraredsensors 132 and an LDO 1220 in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure. As shown, FIG. 12 also illustrates various components 1202,1204, 1205, 1206, 1208, and 1210 which may implemented in the same orsimilar manner as corresponding components previously described withregard to FIG. 4. FIG. 12 also illustrates bias correction circuitry1212 which may be used to adjust one or more bias voltages provided toinfrared sensors 132 (e.g., to compensate for temperature changes,self-heating, and/or other factors).

In some embodiments, LDO 1220 may be provided as part of infrared sensorassembly 128 (e.g., on the same chip and/or wafer level package as theROIC). For example, LDO 1220 may be provided as part of an FPA withinfrared sensor assembly 128. As discussed, such implementations mayreduce power supply noise introduced to infrared sensor assembly 128 andthus provide an improved PSRR. In addition, by implementing the LDO withthe ROIC, less die area may be consumed and fewer discrete die (orchips) are needed.

LDO 1220 receives an input voltage provided by a power source 1230 overa supply line 1232. LDO 1220 provides an output voltage to variouscomponents of infrared sensor assembly 128 over supply lines 1222. Inthis regard, LDO 1220 may provide substantially identical regulatedoutput voltages to various components of infrared sensor assembly 128 inresponse to a single input voltage received from power source 1230.

For example, in some embodiments, power source 1230 may provide an inputvoltage in a range of approximately 2.8 volts to approximately 11 volts(e.g., approximately 2.8 volts in one embodiment), and LDO 1220 mayprovide an output voltage in a range of approximately 1.5 volts toapproximately 2.8 volts (e.g., approximately 2.5 volts in oneembodiment). In this regard, LDO 1220 may be used to provide aconsistent regulated output voltage, regardless of whether power source1230 is implemented with a conventional voltage range of approximately 9volts to approximately 11 volts, or a low voltage such as approximately2.8 volts. As such, although various voltage ranges are provided for theinput and output voltages, it is contemplated that the output voltage ofLDO 1220 will remain fixed despite changes in the input voltage.

The implementation of LDO 1220 as part of infrared sensor assembly 128provides various advantages over conventional power implementations forFPAs. For example, conventional FPAs typically rely on multiple powersources, each of which may be provided separately to the FPA, andseparately distributed to the various components of the FPA. Byregulating a single power source 1230 by LDO 1220, appropriate voltagesmay be separately provided (e.g., to reduce possible noise) to allcomponents of infrared sensor assembly 128 with reduced complexity. Theuse of LDO 1220 also allows infrared sensor assembly 128 to operate in aconsistent manner, even if the input voltage from power source 1230changes (e.g., if the input voltage increases or decreases as a resultof charging or discharging a battery or other type of device used forpower source 1230).

The various components of infrared sensor assembly 128 shown in FIG. 12may also be implemented to operate at lower voltages than conventionaldevices. For example, as discussed, LDO 1220 may be implemented toprovide a low voltage (e.g., approximately 2.5 volts). This contrastswith the multiple higher voltages typically used to power conventionalFPAs, such as: approximately 3.3 volts to approximately 5 volts used topower digital circuitry; approximately 3.3 volts used to power analogcircuitry; and approximately 9 volts to approximately 11 volts used topower loads. Also, in some embodiments, the use of LDO 1220 may reduceor eliminate the need for a separate negative reference voltage to beprovided to infrared sensor assembly 128.

Additional aspects of the low voltage operation of infrared sensorassembly 128 may be further understood with reference to FIG. 13. FIG.13 illustrates a circuit diagram of a portion of infrared sensorassembly 128 of FIG. 12 in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure. In particular, FIG. 13 illustrates additional components ofbias correction circuitry 1212 (e.g., components 1326, 1330, 1332, 1334,1336, 1338, and 1341) connected to LDO 1220 and infrared sensors 132.For example, bias correction circuitry 1212 may be used to compensatefor temperature-dependent changes in bias voltages in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure. The operation of such additionalcomponents may be further understood with reference to similarcomponents identified in U.S. Pat. No. 7,679,048 issued Mar. 16, 2010which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Infraredsensor assembly 128 may also be implemented in accordance with thevarious components identified in U.S. Pat. No. 6,812,465 issued Nov. 2,2004 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In various embodiments, some or all of the bias correction circuitry1212 may be implemented on a global array basis as shown in FIG. 13(e.g., used for all infrared sensors 132 collectively in an array). Inother embodiments, some or all of the bias correction circuitry 1212 maybe implemented an individual sensor basis (e.g., entirely or partiallyduplicated for each infrared sensor 132). In some embodiments, biascorrection circuitry 1212 and other components of FIG. 13 may beimplemented as part of ROIC 1202.

As shown in FIG. 13, LDO 1220 provides a load voltage Vload to biascorrection circuitry 1212 along one of supply lines 1222. As discussed,in some embodiments, Vload may be approximately 2.5 volts whichcontrasts with larger voltages of approximately 9 volts to approximately11 volts that may be used as load voltages in conventional infraredimaging devices.

Based on Vload, bias correction circuitry 1212 provides a sensor biasvoltage Vbolo at a node 1360. Vbolo may be distributed to one or moreinfrared sensors 132 through appropriate switching circuitry 1370 (e.g.,represented by broken lines in FIG. 13). In some examples, switchingcircuitry 1370 may be implemented in accordance with appropriatecomponents identified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,812,465 and 7,679,048previously referenced herein.

Each infrared sensor 132 includes a node 1350 which receives Vbolothrough switching circuitry 1370, and another node 1352 which may beconnected to ground, a substrate, and/or a negative reference voltage.In some embodiments, the voltage at node 1360 may be substantially thesame as Vbolo provided at nodes 1350. In other embodiments, the voltageat node 1360 may be adjusted to compensate for possible voltage dropsassociated with switching circuitry 1370 and/or other factors.

Vbolo may be implemented with lower voltages than are typically used forconventional infrared sensor biasing. In one embodiment, Vbolo may be ina range of approximately 0.2 volts to approximately 0.7 volts. Inanother embodiment, Vbolo may be in a range of approximately 0.4 voltsto approximately 0.6 volts. In another embodiment, Vbolo may beapproximately 0.5 volts. In contrast, conventional infrared sensorstypically use bias voltages of approximately 1 volt.

The use of a lower bias voltage for infrared sensors 132 in accordancewith the present disclosure permits infrared sensor assembly 128 toexhibit significantly reduced power consumption in comparison withconventional infrared imaging devices. In particular, the powerconsumption of each infrared sensor 132 is reduced by the square of thebias voltage. As a result, a reduction from, for example, 1.0 volt to0.5 volts provides a significant reduction in power, especially whenapplied to many infrared sensors 132 in an infrared sensor array. Thisreduction in power may also result in reduced self-heating of infraredsensor assembly 128.

In accordance with additional embodiments of the present disclosure,various techniques are provided for reducing the effects of noise inimage frames provided by infrared imaging devices operating at lowvoltages. In this regard, when infrared sensor assembly 128 is operatedwith low voltages as described, noise, self-heating, and/or otherphenomena may, if uncorrected, become more pronounced in image framesprovided by infrared sensor assembly 128.

For example, referring to FIG. 13, when LDO 1220 maintains Vload at alow voltage in the manner described herein, Vbolo will also bemaintained at its corresponding low voltage and the relative size of itsoutput signals may be reduced. As a result, noise, self-heating, and/orother phenomena may have a greater effect on the smaller output signalsread out from infrared sensors 132, resulting in variations (e.g.,errors) in the output signals. If uncorrected, these variations may beexhibited as noise in the image frames. Moreover, although low voltageoperation may reduce the overall amount of certain phenomena (e.g.,self-heating), the smaller output signals may permit the remaining errorsources (e.g., residual self-heating) to have a disproportionate effecton the output signals during low voltage operation.

To compensate for such phenomena, infrared sensor assembly 128, infraredimaging module 100, and/or host device 102 may be implemented withvarious array sizes, frame rates, and/or frame averaging techniques. Forexample, as discussed, a variety of different array sizes arecontemplated for infrared sensors 132. In some embodiments, infraredsensors 132 may be implemented with array sizes ranging from 32 by 32 to160 by 120 infrared sensors 132. Other example array sizes include 80 by64, 80 by 60, 64 by 64, and 64 by 32. Any desired array size may beused.

Advantageously, when implemented with such relatively small array sizes,infrared sensor assembly 128 may provide image frames at relatively highframe rates without requiring significant changes to ROIC and relatedcircuitry. For example, in some embodiments, frame rates may range fromapproximately 120 Hz to approximately 480 Hz.

In some embodiments, the array size and the frame rate may be scaledrelative to each other (e.g., in an inversely proportional manner orotherwise) such that larger arrays are implemented with lower framerates, and smaller arrays are implemented with higher frame rates. Forexample, in one embodiment, an array of 160 by 120 may provide a framerate of approximately 120 Hz. In another embodiment, an array of 80 by60 may provide a correspondingly higher frame rate of approximately 240Hz. Other frame rates are also contemplated.

By scaling the array size and the frame rate relative to each other, theparticular readout timing of rows and/or columns of the FPA array mayremain consistent, regardless of the actual FPA array size or framerate. In one embodiment, the readout timing may be approximately 63microseconds per row or column.

As previously discussed with regard to FIG. 8, the image frames capturedby infrared sensors 132 may be provided to a frame averager 804 thatintegrates multiple image frames to provide image frames 802 (e.g.,processed image frames) with a lower frame rate (e.g., approximately 30Hz, approximately 60 Hz, or other frame rates) and with an improvedsignal to noise ratio. In particular, by averaging the high frame rateimage frames provided by a relatively small FPA array, image noiseattributable to low voltage operation may be effectively averaged outand/or substantially reduced in image frames 802. Accordingly, infraredsensor assembly 128 may be operated at relatively low voltages providedby LDO 1220 as discussed without experiencing additional noise andrelated side effects in the resulting image frames 802 after processingby frame averager 804.

Other embodiments are also contemplated. For example, although a singlearray of infrared sensors 132 is illustrated, it is contemplated thatmultiple such arrays may be used together to provide higher resolutionimage frames (e.g., a scene may be imaged across multiple such arrays).Such arrays may be provided in multiple infrared sensor assemblies 128and/or provided in the same infrared sensor assembly 128. Each sucharray may be operated at low voltages as described, and also may beprovided with associated ROIC circuitry such that each array may stillbe operated at a relatively high frame rate. The high frame rate imageframes provided by such arrays may be averaged by shared or dedicatedframe averagers 804 to reduce and/or eliminate noise associated with lowvoltage operation. As a result, high resolution infrared images may beobtained while still operating at low voltages.

In various embodiments, infrared sensor assembly 128 may be implementedwith appropriate dimensions to permit infrared imaging module 100 to beused with a small form factor socket 104, such as a socket used formobile devices. For example, in some embodiments, infrared sensorassembly 128 may be implemented with a chip size in a range ofapproximately 4.0 mm by approximately 4.0 mm to approximately 5.5 mm byapproximately 5.5 mm (e.g., approximately 4.0 mm by approximately 5.5 mmin one example). Infrared sensor assembly 128 may be implemented withsuch sizes or other appropriate sizes to permit use with socket 104implemented with various sizes such as: 8.5 mm by 8.5 mm, 8.5 mm by 5.9mm, 6.0 mm by 6.0 mm, 5.5 mm by 5.5 mm, 4.5 mm by 4.5 mm, and/or othersocket sizes such as, for example, those identified in Table 1 of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/495,873 previously referencedherein.

Where applicable, various embodiments provided by the present disclosurecan be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations of hardwareand software. Also where applicable, the various hardware componentsand/or software components set forth herein can be combined intocomposite components comprising software, hardware, and/or both withoutdeparting from the spirit of the present disclosure. Where applicable,the various hardware components and/or software components set forthherein can be separated into sub-components comprising software,hardware, or both without departing from the spirit of the presentdisclosure. In addition, where applicable, it is contemplated thatsoftware components can be implemented as hardware components, andvice-versa.

Software in accordance with the present disclosure, such asnon-transitory instructions, program code, and/or data, can be stored onone or more non-transitory machine readable mediums. It is alsocontemplated that software identified herein can be implemented usingone or more general purpose or specific purpose computers and/orcomputer systems, networked and/or otherwise. Where applicable, theordering of various steps described herein can be changed, combined intocomposite steps, and/or separated into sub-steps to provide featuresdescribed herein.

Embodiments described above illustrate but do not limit the invention.It should also be understood that numerous modifications and variationsare possible in accordance with the principles of the invention.Accordingly, the scope of the invention is defined only by the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a focal plane array (FPA)comprising: an array of infrared sensors adapted to image a scene; abias circuit adapted to provide a bias voltage to the infrared sensors,wherein the bias voltage is selected from a range of approximately 0.2volts to approximately 0.7 volts; and a read out integrated circuit(ROIC) adapted to provide signals from the infrared sensorscorresponding to captured image frames.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein a size of the array of infrared sensors is less thanapproximately 160 by
 120. 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the size isone of 80 by 64, 80 by 60, 64 by 64, 64 by 32, or 32 by
 32. 4. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the ROIC is adapted to provide the capturedimage frames at a frame rate selected from a range of approximately 120Hz to approximately 480 Hz.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein: the framerate is a first frame rate; and the system further comprises a processoradapted to combine at least a subset of the captured image frames toprovide processed image frames at a second frame rate selected from arange of approximately 30 Hz to approximately 60 Hz with reduced noisein comparison with the captured image frames.
 6. The system of claim 1,wherein the bias circuit is adapted to provide the bias voltage to theinfrared sensors in response to a regulated voltage selected from arange of approximately 1.5 volts to approximately 2.8 volts.
 7. Thesystem of claim 6, further comprising a low-dropout regulator (LDO)integrated with the FPA and adapted to provide the regulated voltage tothe bias circuit in response to an external supply voltage selected froma range of approximately 2.8 volts to approximately 11 volts.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the FPA is a first FPA, wherein the array ofinfrared sensors is a first array, the system further comprising asecond FPA comprising a second array of infrared sensors adapted toimage the scene.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is aninfrared imaging module adapted to be inserted into a socket having asize less than approximately 8.5 mm by 8.5 mm.
 10. The system of claim1, further comprising a processor adapted to process an intentionallyblurred image frame, wherein the blurred image frame comprises blurredthermal image data associated with the scene and noise introduced by thesystem, wherein the processor is adapted to: use the blurred image frameto determine a plurality of non-uniformity correction (NUC) terms toreduce at least a portion of the noise; and apply the NUC terms to thecaptured image frames.
 11. A method comprising: providing a bias voltagefrom a bias circuit of a focal plane array (FPA) to an array of infraredsensors of the FPA, wherein the bias voltage is selected from a range ofapproximately 0.2 volts to approximately 0.7 volts; imaging a sceneusing the infrared sensors; and providing signals from the infraredsensors corresponding to captured image frames of the scene using a readout integrated circuit (ROIC) of the FPA.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein a size of the array of infrared sensors is less thanapproximately 160 by
 120. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the sizeis one of 80 by 64, 80 by 60, 64 by 64, 64 by 32, or 32 by
 32. 14. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the captured image frames are provided at aframe rate selected from a range of approximately 120 Hz toapproximately 480 Hz.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein: the framerate is a first frame rate; and the method further comprises combiningat least a subset of the captured image frames to provide processedimage frames at a second frame rate selected from a range ofapproximately 30 Hz to approximately 60 Hz with reduced noise incomparison with the captured image frames.
 16. The method of claim 11,further comprising receiving a regulated voltage at the bias circuitselected from a range of approximately 1.5 volts to approximately 2.8volts, wherein the bias voltage is provided from the bias circuit to theinfrared sensors in response to the regulated voltage.
 17. The method ofclaim 16, further comprising providing the regulated voltage from alow-dropout regulator (LDO) integrated with the FPA to the bias circuitin response to an external supply voltage selected from a range ofapproximately 2.8 volts to approximately 11 volts.
 18. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the FPA is a first FPA, wherein the array of infraredsensors is a first array, the method further comprising imaging thescene using a second FPA comprising a second array of infrared sensors.19. The method of claim 11, wherein the FPA is part of an infraredimaging module adapted to be inserted into a socket having a size lessthan approximately 8.5 mm by 8.5 mm.
 20. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: receiving an intentionally blurred one of the captured imageframes, wherein the blurred image frame comprises blurred thermal imagedata associated with the scene and noise introduced by an infraredimaging system; processing the blurred image frame to determine aplurality of non-uniformity correction (NUC) terms to reduce at least aportion of the noise; and applying the NUC terms to the captured imageframes.